Apparatus for testing flying-machines.



F. BRACKETT. APPARATUS FOR TESTlNG FLYING MACHINES. APPLIOATION FILEDsEPT.14, 1909.

'- lgl Patented July 16, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

:Q \v QS I Frederick Bracke F. BRAGKBTT. APPARATUS FOR TESTING PLYIINGMACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED sBPT.14,'19o9. I Y L 1 Patented July 16, 1912.

2 SHEETS-suma.

' /3 29d 29 i v E- En @X3i/Mmmm t I .Y

II 6M v Washington, in thev District of lives are lost during/thetrial.l Not only is Hight is atan end. At' thistime of course and ishindered in arriving at proper conclusions and promptly remedying thetrouble `of which the following isa specification.

'craft of any known type whether heavier.

time to notice thev causeofthe trouble and AiUNITEn sTATEs PATENToEEIoE.

vIEREIEIRICK BRACKTT, 0F WASHI NG'ToN, DISTRICT `or coLUMBIA.

y APPARATUS' Fon TESTING FLYINGMACHINES.

To all 'whom t may concern; i

Be it known .that I, FREDERICK BRAGK'ETT,y a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Columbia, have invented new and useful Improvementsin Apparatus forv Test-ing Flying-Machines,

My invention relates to an apparatus particularly adapted for testingheavier than air machines, such for instance as what are now commonlyknown as mono-planes and bi-planes. Vhile it is particularly adapted forthis use it may be used for test-ing air than air or lighoter than air.

In testing heavier than air machines great diflicult-y. is nowexperienced' in that the ma-4 chines cannotbe at once `adjustedproperly, and machines in the experimental stage` often require markedchanges in proportion of parts and design generally before they will Hysuccessfully. The result is that when they are making their trialflights much damage is caused due to the freaks of the trial machine,and in many instances this true, biit'thetrial Hights as ordinarilyconducted with the machine operating freely and independently of anysupport other than that given by itsown power, .observations arevdifficult to make as thc' operator has to give the majo-r partof hisattention tothe guiding of the machine in .such a manner as to save themachine and himself in case all should ,not go well. When the machinedoes not go Well'theoperator is then in danger of his? life and hasstill less has no timein which to consider a remedy for it until themachine has landed and its he observes the machine in static -oonditionowing to the fact that that point whichU shouldl be most clear in hisconsideration, z'. el the behavior of the machinef in Hight, is insteadof being most clear quite haz'y yand indistinct. It is only afterrepeated trials of this nature thatair craft can be made to Hy at all,and their perfection is many times a matter of surmise. If the operatoror inventor eouldharve a reasonable time for observing the behavior ofthe machine in Hight Specification of Letterslatent. e

Patenteuaury 16,1912.

Application led September 14, 1909i Serial No. 517,583.

all this difficulty would beminimized, and

' the success of his machine would be hastened,

t time of delay. and l chines. By its use the behavior of the trialcraft can be noticed under 'many conditions and fol-any length of timeto the'operator on the trial craft;

All-the various elements whiclnform part of my apparatus and theirconnection and coperat-ion with each other will be fully explained .inthe following specification taken in connection ,with the accompanyingdrawings, in which-` v without danger Figurel is\ a perspective Viewshowing myv apparatus in operation. Fig. 2 is a modified form of acontrolling'car constitut- `ing one of the elements of lmy apparatus,and 'used in controllingvflight of tester if needed, and in movingexperimental craft,

into 'position for attachment to the tester. Fig.' '3 is a'- rearelevation of a tr eling pulley block which I make use of in the controlof a captive aircraft which constitutes another element lof myapparatus. Fig. 4.

is a sectional view showing a lconvenient means of -attachi'ng'thetrolleys to the sup-.

porting rails. Fig. 5 is an end view of the travelingpulley block shownin Fig. 3.

My apparatusconsists in themain of three `cooperating elements, namely,a captive air craft, a pair of spaced guide` rails supporting travelingblocks to whichl the aircraft is guyed by suitable cables, and acontrolling car to be used if desired which is provided with ymeans forcontrolling the `air craft and to which the cables guying .the air craftare secured in' the beginning of the V passing through the travelingblocks. The guide rails are spaced apart'V trial after some distance,such as Hfty o r vsixty feet,

an elliptical, oval or circular course. The captive air craftI prefer tomake a lighter I and preferably form a closed track, such as y time alldanger both to the trial craft and itsoperator may be avoided.

In Fig. 1, is the captive craft. As shown it is of the lighter than airtype, its buoyancy being supplied by four gas bags or con tainers 11which support a rectangular car 12 by the usual guy wires and braces.These gas bags are .preferably elongated in shape and placed in pairsspaced apart in suoli a manner as to'apply their support to differentparts of the car 12, and thus greatly increase the stabilityofl thecaptive craft. It is, of course, evident that I mayspaceall four gascontainers equidistant apart, their support being given to the car 12 atfour points or along four lines equdistant from each other. A My idea isto distribute the buoyant. force .-in such a manner thatthe craft willbe moststable and most steady under varying conditions. v

13, 1 3 are the two supporting and guiding rails of the closed guidingtrack. c 14 are traveling blocks which are supported from and travel onthe supporting rails 13. Metallic guide rails 15 on'tlie top and bottomrespectively of the supporting rails' 13 are engaged by rollers y16 and17 on the traveling blocks. wIn the form illustrated there are four ofthe rollers 16 in a`ver tical plane, two running on the top rail 15, andtwo on the bottom rail, 'while thereare two of the rollers 17 on' eachblock ina horizontal plane and located behind the rails 15. -In thismanner the traveling blocks are confined 4to the guide rails. PreferablyI employ four of the traveling blocks 14, two

of them on each guiding rail' 15. Each block is provided with aswiveledand hinged pulfy ley or sheave 18 on its inner side, and over'these pulleys run guy ropes or cables," two to each. side of thecaptive craft. By thus using four guy ropes or cables I further increasethe steadiness and stability of my captive craft.y Especially is thistrue in view of the fact that the guide rails. 13 are spaced apart quitewidely, and in view of the'fact that the traveling blocks'14 maybespaced apart on them as desired. Thecables in outline form a pyramidalstructure,'and as is well known when force is applied along such linesgreat stability results.

19 is a controlling car which carries a pair of windlasses 2O to whichthe guy ropes or cables after passing over the sheaves 18 and theauxiliary cables are made fast-,the slack in t-he cables being taken upon the windlass drums.

21 is a track of usual construction laid midway between the guide rails13 and on which the car 19 is adapted to travel.

The numeral 22 designates the trial craft which is suspended from thecaptive craft by cables 23, preferably one on each side of the craft.rIhese cables 23 carry Weights 23al on their lower ends for the purposeof keeping the cables or ropes relatively taut, so that there will be nodanger of the propellers and other movable parts 'of the respective aircrafts being caught in the cables, or of thevcables becoming tangledwith-I other parts of the apparatus when the trial craft rises. Thetrial craft 22 is equippedwith two or more rings 23b on each sidethrough which the cables 23 loosely pass, and by which the trial craftis allowed to rise and fall during its flight, and isl at the same'timeconned within vthe limitsof theA cables '23. The

'range of movement lof the trial craft is thus extended ina verticaldirection as well as a horizontal direction. o

As thus constructed the use of my apparatus is as follows: y'Iheapparatus fortesting the trial craft 22 is raised into position at adesired height' by 'the use of the lighter vthan air craft described,and is held at such Y height or brought to the ground by cables 30, andthe auxiliary .cables 30a in connection with surface car. The cables 30aare connected to the main cables 30 by separable -connectors w admittingof the detachment of the cables-3()a when it is desired that the testershall be used without the controlling car during the testing of thetrial craft. The trial air craft-is brought out on a car runonto themain track, the craft is secured to the .cables 23, which may be made insuitable length, a windlass being provided in the car of the captivepower'craftfor this purpose if desired. During this operation thecaptivecraft is brought quite low, but

after the trial craft has been secured to the supporting cables 23 thecaptive craft is allowed to rise, the guy cables being let out by meansof the windlasses 2O.` As the captive craft rises it lifts the tralcraft with it, and it is allowed to rise, until the trial craft is thedesired distance from the ground. VTwenty-five` feet is amply suliicientfor all practical purposes. This done the trial craft may be manipulatedas desired, followingv jning on the side tracks 24, the car being runpower. I equip my captive craft with three driving shafts, a main shaft25 located centrally of the machine and driving a large propeller, andtwo auxiliary shafts 26 located vone on eachside of the main shaft,` anddriving propellersof smaller size. 27 is an electric motor which drivesall they-shafts. This electric motor I supply with power -from a pair oftrolley wires 28, one secured to each supporting rail 13. In Fig. 4 Ishow a convenient means of attaching these trolleywires 28 to thesupporting rails. Holes 29L are bored at intervals inthe rail, and thetrolley Wire 28 is looped at points opposite these holes, the loopsbeing forced into. the holes which are beveled on the opposite'sides ofthe rails, the natural enlargementcf the loop at the bend preventing theloop from being drawn out of the hole with ease, and firmly holding Athetrolley wire against the supporting rail.

` These trolley-wires 28 are supplied with power from any suitablesource, and power is transmitted Yby them to the motor on the `Atestercar through trolley wheels 29 mounted on the traveling blocks 14 andcables- 30 which lead from them to the motor.` The trolleys 29 arepivoted at 31 on the lblocks. l as shown, being .pressed by spring 32into -30 engagement with the trolley wire 28. A guard rail 33 overhangsthe trolleywire 28 and serves to guard against accidental contact `ofthe guy cables with the trolley as Well as to prevent its engagement byother objects or persons,'ai1d avoid damage and accident. v` On the car12 of the captive craft I provide an electric controller 34 inthe motorcircuit for controlling .the speed ,of

the motor, and. hence the speed of the craft. An operator in the carmay, therefore, easily keep abreast of the trial craft. Inv ad# Nditionto this control fourJrudders, one at each corner of the craftare'provided to assist in turning on the, curves of the course,

and thus preventing a surging of the craft 'i from vone side to theother as the case-may .'be, -and thus disturbing the trlal craft.

Instead ofplacing all the control in the handsof an operator on thecaptive craft, I- may arrange for control from the ground. In s uchcasev iffanything happened to the v operatorA on the power craft, or ifhe should lose control of the craft, a person could control thefsamefrom the ground without interrupting the trial of` theY experimentalmachine. That this may be accomplished I provideeon theI car 19, which Icall a`con trolling car., a mechanical friction brake `35 which may beoperated to retard or stop the power craft by retarding or stopping thecontrolling car to which the guy ropes are secured. I also mount on thiscar an additional electrical controller 36, and loop the power cable 30from the block 14 to a windlss 37 from which it passes to the motorcraft is lowered unt-ilthe trial craft is near the ground, when the sidetrack car for supporting the t-rial craft is run out onv the main trackand the trial craft lowered upon it, after which it may be taken to itsstorn age. The captive craft may then be brought down to the ground ornot as desired. Preferably I provide on the controlling car a frame forsupporting the captive craft after it has been brought to the ground,and extending from one. end of this frame are a pair of skidsA 38 whoseends terminate in rollers resting on the track rails 21. The captivecraft may thus be easily loaded onto the controlling carrand moved to aplace of storage, when it is desired to put it away for va season. Inlowering the captive craft the gas containers may be opened to releaseenough gas to allow the craft to settle gently to the ground. See Fig.2.

The apparatus which I have designed possesses several great advantageswhen used in testing trial crafts. In the first place the trial crafthas a wide range of movement. The guide rails are some distance apart,and

'thus the trial craft has considerable latitude of movement. may bemoved'aroundthe entire course as` Within this latitude it many times asdesired. In the second place the support which it has is quite stable,the broad captive craft with its distributed buoyancy and its specialarrangement of guy ropes or cables bein'g very steady. In

the third place, the trial craft may be manipulated throughout.` thecourse with greatest freedom, as the captive craft which supports itinstead of having to be dragged by it, keeps abreast of it, thisallowing it a degree of freedom limited onlyby the length of thesupporting cables. In the fourth place, the entire apparatus iscontrolled most easily, and its position, speed and the height at whichit carries the trial craft may be varied atwill. Possessing theseadvantages the apparatusfullils the object of the invention.'

While I have described the best form of myI invention now known to me,itis ofv course obvious that many modifications may be madefin the formof the elements which go to make it up and their specific arrangementwith relation to each other. without in any way departing from thespirit of4 the invention. Such changes will naturally have to be madewhen my device is modified to adapt it to different conditions, so thatitmay be'used with different machines. Also my apparatusmay be used fora purpose other than that of testing trial craft, suchI for instanceasthe carrying of passengers in the captive craft, the passengers beingtaken around the course for pleasure. It may Well find such use as anamusement device for use in parks. I desire to cover all suchmodifications and uses in the annexed claims.

1. An apparatus of the character described, comprising a pair of railsspaced apart, a captive air craft movably guyed to both rails by cablesdirectly from the craft, means foi-'propelling said craft, and means fersuspending atrial craft therefrom.

Q 'An apparatus of the `character described, comprising a pair of railsspaced apart,'-`a captive air craft, a guy from the craft to each railmovable along the rail, and means for suspending a trial crafttherefrom. i

3. An apparatus of ythe character described, comprising a captive air`craft equipped with tWo or Inore gas containers, and means forsuspending a trial air craft beneath the same, a track having railsrelatively Widely spaced apart, and guy ropes .extending from therespective sides of said craft to the respective rails.

L1. An apparatus for testing air craft com'- prising a plurality of gasbags secured to a common frame structure means for supportving a trialcraft beneath said frame struc.

ture, a. pair of rails ixedly securedto the earth and relativelywidelyspaced apart, and guy ropes connecting said air craft to said rails. "sj 5. An apparatus for the'testing of heavierv than air crafts comprisinga movable captive air craft of the lighter than air type means confiningthe craft to a given course, Weighted means for suspending a trial craftbeneath the same, and means for controlling the height of said captivecraft.

G. An apparatus Ifor the 'testing'ofheavifer than air crafts comprisinga movable captive air craft of the l ighter than air type meansconfining the craft to a given .course-,Q

means for suspending -a trial craft beneath the same, and means forcontrolling the height 'of said trial craft.

T. In an apparatus of the character de'- .scr1bed, a pair of guide railsspaced apart,

an air craft, Whose buoyancy is relatively.

widely distributed, a cable from the craft to each rail, and means forfreely supporting a trial craft from said air craft of relatively Widelydistributed buoyancy, said means allowing 'free movement of the trialcraft in all planes. Y Y 8. An apparatus of the character described,comprisinga pair of elevated supporting rails spaced apart, traveling'blocks mounted on said rails, an air craft, guys from said craft runningto said traveling blocks, and means for supporting a trial craft fromand beneath said captive craft.

9. Any apparatus of t-he character described, comprising two rigid`supporting rails, traveling blocks on said rails, an air craft, cablesrunning froln said air craft to said blocks, an electric motor on thecraft for propelling the same, a trolley Wire supported by one of saidrails, a trolley mounted on a traveling block, a power cable connect-ingthe trolley With the moto-r, and means for supporting atrial craft fromand beneath said captive craft. y

10. ln an apparatus of the characterdescribed, a guide rail, a travelingblock on said guide rail,.an air craft guyed to said block by a cable,an electric motor on said' craft for propelling the same, a trolley Wiresupported by said guide rail for supplying power to said motor, a guardover said trolley Wire for preventing contact of said guy 12. Anapparatus of the cha.racter"de t scribedcomprising a ,guide rail, atraveling block supported by saidguide rail,van electric air craft, guycables running from said craft to said block, a trolley Wire supportedby saidguiderail, a trolley carried by said block, a power cableconnecting theftrolley with the air craft, means for controlling theelevation of said air orafa-and 'means for suppo-rting `a trial eraf-tfrom and tneath said captive craft.

13. An apparatus of the character described comprising a guide railhaving a plurality of holes therein, a traveling block llo supported bysaid rail, a captive' air craft, av

guy 'cable running from said air craft to said block, a trolley Wireloopedinto said holes, ,a trolley carried by the traveling block, a

power cable running from 'the t-rolley to said air craft, and means,forsupporting a trial craft from and beneath said captive craft.l

14. An apparatus of the character described comprising a captive aircraft, a car holding the same captive, said car being adapted to bemoved by said craft, means on said car for controlling said craft, andmeans for supporting a trial craft from and be.

neath said captive craft. 15. An apparatus ofthecharacterdescribed-comprising a captive power aircraft,

a car holding the same captive, said car lbeing adapted to be moved bysaid craft, means on said car for controlling said craft, and means forsupporting a trial craft from and beneathv said captive craft.

5 16. An apparatus of the character described comprisingv a captivepaircraft, a fiXed track, a car traveling on said track forholding saidcraft captive, means on said car for controlling'said craft, a secondtrack to which said craft isguyed, and means for supporting a trialcraft from and beneath said captive craft.

17. An apparatus of the character describedcomprising acaptive aircraft, a car holding the same captive, said car being p adapted to bemoved by the craft, means on I said car for controlling the height ofsaid craft, andmeans supporting a trial craft from and beneath saidcaptive craft. y 18.*An apparatusof the character described comprisingafcaptive power air craft,

a car holding the samev captive,..said car being adaptedto be' moved by*said craft, -means on said car for controlling the speed of said aircraft, and means Ior supporting a trial craft fro-m and beneath saidcaptive craft.

19. An apparatus of -the character described comprising a captive aircraft, a car holding the same captive, said car being adapted to bemoved by said craft, a brake on'said car for controlling said craft, andmeans for supporting a ltrial craft from and beneath said captivecraft.,

20. An apparatus of the character described comprising an electric aircraft, a car holding t-he same captive, said car being adapted to bemoved by said craft, an electric controller on said car for controllingthe speed of said craft, and means for supporting a trial Vcraft fromand beneath said captive craft.

21. In a'n apparatus of the character described, a captive air craft, acar for holding said craft captive, a frame rest on said car fordirectly supporting the captive craft when it is lowered to the earth,and means for supporting a trial craft from and beneath the captivecraft.

22. In an apparatus of the character described, -a captive air craft, ,acar for holding the same? captive, means 'on said car for directlysupporting the captive craft when it is lowered to the earth,skidsvattached to said car for loading said captive craft, and

means for supporting a trial craft from and beneath said captive craft.

23. InY an apparatus of the character described, a pair of spaced guiderails, traveling blocks supported by said guide rails, a surface trackbetween the guide rails, a controlling car on the track, a captive aircra-ft above the guide rails, cables running from the air craft to thetraveling blocks and to the controlling car, and means for supporting atrial craft from and beneath the said captive craft.

24. In an apparatus of the character described, a pair of spacedguiderails, traveling blocks supportedl by said guide rails, a surface trackbetween the guide rails, a controlling car on the' track, a captive aircraft above the guide'rails, cables from the air craft to the travelingblocks and to the controlling car, a coupling in the cables on the carside of the traveling blocks whereby .the cables may be released fromsaid car and the air craft may be held captive by said traveling blocks,andmeans for supporting a trial craft from and beneath said captivecraft. I A

25. In an apparatus for testing heavierthan-air craft, a. powerpropelled captive air craft, means for controlling the height of thesame above the ground, and vertical supports for carrying a trial aircraft beneath the same, the supports being loosely connected to thetrial craft and having means at their lower ends for holding thesupports taut during the rise of thetrial craft.

' 26. In an apparatus for testing heavierthan-air craft, a captivecraft, flexible supports depending from the captive craft and havingweights upon't-heir lower ends to hold the supports taut., a trialcraftgmounted for vertical sliding'movement lupon the ieXible supportsVand being limited from downward movement from the supports by saidweights, and means connected to the captive craft for admittingtraveling of the same in a given path witlrthe trial craft.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand-in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

l Witnesses: ARTHUR L.' BRYANT,

GEO. W. REA.

